Sec. 24-517. Landscape plan required content.
(a) A landscape plan is required for each lot within a proposed development. It is recommended that the landscape plan be prepared by a landscape architect, nurseryman, or other professional experienced in landscape design and the installation and care of plant materials.
(b) All landscape plans submitted for approval as a component of a required development plan shall show the entire zoning lot to scale on twenty-four (24) inch × thirty-six (36) inch sheets unless the Town Manager allows otherwise and shall contain the following information:
(1) The location and dimension of all existing and proposed structures, parking lots and drives, roadways and right-of-way, sidewalks, bicycle paths, ground signs, refuse disposal areas, bicycle parking areas, freestanding electrical equipment, recreation facilities, utility lines and easements, freestanding structural features, and other landscape improvements, such as earth berms, walls fences, screened, sculptures, fountains, street furniture, lights, and courts or paved areas;
(2) The name and address of the owner, developer, and plan preparer, the date the plan was prepared, scale, and north arrow;
(3) The location, quantity, size, and botanical and common name of all proposed planting materials;
(4) The locations, size, and common name of existing trees and individual shrubs, areas of dense trees or shrubs, and other natural features, indicating which are to be preserved and which are to be removed;
(5) The approximate location and generic identification of existing structures and plant materials within the yard of adjoining properties;
(6) Existing and proposed grading of the site, including proposed berming, indicating contours at not more than two-foot intervals;
(7) Specifications of the type and boundaries of all proposed vegetative ground cover;
(8) Design of fences and all other accessory structures;
(9) The location of barriers to be placed at or beyond the drip line of any trees to be preserved, and the type of material to be used for the barrier;
(10) Planting and installation details as necessary to ensure conformance with all required standards;
(11) Details indicating specific grading measures or other protective devices where trees are to be preserved in areas of cut and fill; and
(12) A tabulation clearly displaying the relevant statistical information necessary for the Plan Commission to evaluate compliance with the provisions of this chapter.
(c) No construction activity of any kind shall take place within the area defined by the drip-line of any vegetation that is to be retained and counted as fulfilling these requirements. In the event that said retained vegetation ceases to be living, it shall be replaced with plantings that conform to the American Standard for Nursery Stock, (ANSI Z60.1-2004), published May 12, 2004 by the American Nursery and Landscape Association, 1000 Vermont Avenue, NW, Suite 300, Washington, DC 20005 incorporated herein by reference, as amended and supplemented. Plantings shall also conform to hardiness zone 5 standards of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Miscellaneous Publication No. 1475, issued January 1990, incorporated herein by reference, as amended and supplemented. The map is available through the USDA and other cooperative extensions. A web-based interactive Plant Hardiness Zone Map (2001 U.S. National Arboretum "Web Version" of the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map) can be found in the United States National Arboretum website at http://www.usna.usda.gov/Hardzone/ushzmap.html.
(d) All new trees required to be planted by this article shall be measured as follows:
(1) All shade trees proposed to be used in accordance with any landscaping plan shall at the time of planting be a minimum of eight (8) to ten (10) feet in overall height and have a minimum trunk diameter, twelve (12) inches above the ground, of two and one-half (2½) inches. They should be of a variety which will attain an average mature spread greater than twenty (20) feet.
(2) All evergreen trees shall be a minimum of five (5) feet in height at the time of planting, measured from the top of the rootball.
(3) All shrubs shall be a minimum of eighteen (18) inches in height at the time of planting, measured from the top of the rootball.
(4) Landscaping materials selected should be appropriate to local growing and climatic conditions. Wherever appropriate, existing trees should be conserved and integrated into the landscaping plan.
(e) Earth mounds and berms shall be physical barriers that block or screen the view similar to a hedge, fence or wall. Mounds shall be constructed with proper and adequate plant material to prevent erosion. A difference in elevation between areas requiring screening does not constitute an existing earth mound and shall not be considered as fulfilling any screening requirement. Where mounds are to be moved, the maximum permitted slope is 3:1 (run:rise).
(f) Grass shall be planted in species normally grown as permanent lawns in northern Indiana. In swales or other areas subject to erosion, solid sod, an erosion reducing net or suitable mulch shall be used.